Associated Press Writer
TOKYO (AP) — Japan waded into the currency market Wednesday for the first time
in six years, buying dollars to weaken the surging yen, which is battering
famed Japanese manufacturers like Toyota and Sony after spiking to 15-year
highs.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan surviving a leadership challenge the day before had
driven the yen to its latest high as currency traders bet that intervention was
unlikely on his watch.
The surprise move, a coordinated effort by the finance ministry and central
bank, shows a newly empowered Kan stamping his authority on government policy
and means the yen is now less of a one-way bet _ even if the effects of
intervention prove to be short-lived. Japanese officials would not provide a
figure for how much yen the central bank sold in the market.